Miss Dressy is in town to visit, and while at the Outlets, I chanced upon these booties at Ralph Lauren for…. $24.98. But get this: I received an additional 25% off (clearance item) plus 15% off (special coupon I printed online).

I paid a grand total of $15.92!

I’m REALLY happy, because I returned these two other pairs of booties I have been considering.

So after all my uneventful boot-shopping stories (here, here, here, here, and here), I FINALLY found a pair in late November! Sorry, all the holidays, travel, and craziness meant blogging fell by the wayside…

I got this pair of sleek dark brown boots by Ralph Lauren for $80 at the outlets, woooooot!

They are really quite perfect, being dressy, sleek, plain, and the heels aren’t too high nor narrow. Very pleased.

I… shall post a better photo soon, and maybe even with me in it, once it stops being 84 degrees in Los Angeles!

While at the outlets last week with out of town guests, I succumbed to a leather jacket by Black Rivet. MSRP was listed as $550 and was marked down to $129. Thankfully I had printed a “$20 off $100 purchase” coupon online, so that made this supple lambskin leather jacket quite irresistible.

I love that the shoulders fit perfectly and the sleeves are long enough for my monkey arms. It’s been perfect for Fall in LA, and looks a thousand times better than the pleather version I picked up for cheap from Forever21 last year. Now I’m even embarrassed to have worn the faux version to New York…

This is a classic style that I believe will be timeless, as long as I can still fit into the jacket!

Only downside is that the husband sings the X-Men theme when I put the jacket on, and SmallWhiteSkinny thought I look like one of The Avengers….

Erm, ok, this is embarrassing, but I bought more clothing from Target.

I was at Target picking up mouthwash and picked up two striped shirts for $2.70 each: Basic v-necks that are great for yoga class or just running inane errands around town (like picking up mouthwash at Target).

However, when they rang up, there was a “Buy 2 get $2 off” promo in effect, so each shirt came up to just $1.70! SWEET!

What do you do when deadlines abound, work is piling up, your head feels like it’s going to implode, AND you’ve signed up to attend a symposium?

Well, I chose to say ‘eff it all’, and headed out for some retail therapy instead: I’m on the hunt for a pair of leather boots, and also a pair of flat dressy sandals for a beach wedding in the Dominican Republic.

I popped into Nordstrom Rack, and though I did try a few contenders, I ultimately left emptyhanded:

Most of the boots were flat riding boots, and I’m looking for leather dress boots with a heel. I quickly picked out this pair by Diesel, and, though comfortable and easy to walk in, the leather had a strange tinge to it. It seemed to be a mix of grey/purple/blue/brown, and I also felt that the boots were more ‘edgy’ rather than dressy. For $169, I passed on them.

Next I found this lovely pair of sandals which would have fit the bill for the Dominican Republic wedding. However, the ankle straps were not adjustable (zippered back) so the back of my foot flapped around too much in it. I would have bought them otherwise ($24.95 I think?).

This pair of cream-colored peeptoes with an adorable bow by Enzo Angiolini was a mere $22! However, bearing in mind that I had just acquired a $15 Vince Camuto pair, and the fact that these felt very stiff & uncomfortable, I promptly put them back.

Have you ever gone to a TJ Maxx to look for ONE THING and actually succeeded in leaving with said ONE THING?

Well, I never have.

Today I ventured into that treacherous place to pick up a gift for a baby, and… of course, the shoe section exerts a magical magnetic attraction that I could not resist.

A pair of Vince Camuto ‘Kendall’ peep toe patent pumps caught my eye so I thought to slip them on, just for fun.
Oh. They’re half a size too small, but hey, they look so chic.

As I peered at the shoe mirror, two women, also victims of the magnetic shoe section, ooh-ed and aaah-ed over my new find.

“They look SO GOOD on you!”
“Such pretty shoes! Did you see another pair around here?”

At this point, I decided to look at the price. All 3 of us gasped:

Well, as 3 random strangers who just started talking in the TJ Maxx shoe aisle, we unanimously agreed that I HAD TO buy these shoes.

But they’re a little tight, I countered.

Immediately, I was advised to wear socks with the shoes to stretch them out. Use a hairdryer to soften them WHILE wearing socks. “Oooh! I saw that on Pinterest,” I add. “OMG I LOVE PINTEREST!” squealed my newfound friends in unison.

Of course I bought them. It wouldn’t be right to let my friends down, now would it?

At the cash register, the sale clerk who rang me up made a remark about how much she loves this shoe, and then went “WOW you got a DEAL on this one!” with the $15 beep.

I found them online:

As I left TJ Maxx beaming and proud, I realized… I don’t have much to wear my new nude peep toe pumps with! Oh no! So… when I walked by a $22 tan-colored pencil skirt at Target (erm, I had to get a card to go with the gift?), I snapped it up too.

I made my first online JCrew purchases a week ago, picking up a lightweight wool dress in navy for $82 – which unfortunately fit my bottom half swimmingly well, but my lack of boobyness left the top too baggy – and a polka dot pencil skirt.

The pencil skirt turned out to be flattering and fits perfectly, and I really like the unusual pattern. I’ll post another picture when I’m actually wearing it. For now:

I paid $46.50 + tax + shipping for it, but as you see above, it’s now marked down to $39.99 with FREE SHIPPING. Unfortunately JCrew Factory would not allow for the price adjustment because it’s been more than 7 days. Ah well. You win some, you lose some!

Last week I came across tank tops at my nearby Gap Factory store for $5.99 so I purchased two of two of them. With my “Gap Eco Tote discount” which gave me an additional 10% off, it worked out to just $5.50 a piece!

Today I went back there to pick up more, so now I have 4 varietals of stripes, heather gray, and black.

I’ve never tried on a silk shirt, much less owned one, so today when I passed a JCrew store and spotted silk shirts on their clearance rack, I was quick to try one on, “just to see how it feels” before I consider ordering online from Everlane.

Well, it feels pretty damn nice!!!

Super light & airy yet opaque enough to not need a camisole under. Seems like it will be perfect for SoCal summers!

I was hesitant to purchase because the white versions were marked at $79.99. But… when looking for the care label on this shirt, I realized that the navy blue version is $59.99!

Usual price $118!

And here’s the clincher: As I made my way to the cash register, I saw a very familiar face. Turns out, one of my clients is the manager of this JCrew store – say whaaaaaaat?!